Kingdom of Lenorë
Head of State: Reya Rivallon an’Konstanzëan Founder: Reya Relen an’Lenorë (clan) Reya Konstanzëa an’Lenorë (Konstanzëan) Government: Absolute Monarchy Population: 6,000,000 Religion: Aman Ecclesia, Saint Cults (Saint Pelenon the Grey) Description: The Lenorë clan sits in a grey land of fog and mist, on a small peninsula in the northern region of the world. It’s primary population is made up of the pale-greyish skinned northerners with black hair and black eyes. It is a desolate, somber place where the smell of sea salt is constant. Its people are a cold as their homeland and can turn ruthless and independent at a moment’s notice. One ruled by petty Reya, the clan was conquered by the Laurë hundreds of years ago, at great cost. For years, Laurë monarchs weakened the clan and nearly brought it under the rule of the Laurë or the Mallanë. Instead, a fierce warrior queen rose up from the weak Laurë rule and became one of her people. Her dynasty, the Konstanzëans, now ruthlessly protect their clan. History: Lenorë was never a land ruled easily. The Lenorë Princes are among the most ancient of all political bodies and it is not certain when the Grey Lords first took up their seats of stone on their little peninsula. It is said that they are remnants of an ancient civilization driven to extinction long ago. The Lenorë Princes each ruled froma Cal or a fortress built of river-smooth stones, in which the entire community dwelt. Lenorë is a rocky place, with rough green hills. The Lenorës were heavily influenced by the culture of the mainland (even becoming Ecclesians) while still maintaining their Lenorë roots and customs. Their land of origin lay across the northern sea and they initially fled before a horde of invaders. It is famed for its openness towards female rulers and warriors, the most famous of whom was Queen Isella the Lioness, who defeated the Rëline Empire in its prime, dying as she struck down the Paladin that led their army. Though it is now a kingdom, Lenorë wasn’t ruled by a single king for most of its history. Instead, Lenorë was dominated by a multitude of petty kings, though they would sometimes call upon one of their number to become the High King of the Lenorës. The Kingdom was one of the few that never had any allegiance to the Ecclesia. It practiced its pagan religion for hundreds of years. Eventually, the House of Calbré became the first true kings of Lenorë and then (much to the horror of his subjects) submitted himself to the Ecclesia. In exchange for his conversion, the Ecclesia granted legitimacy. All those who did not kneel to the new King, Laedon á Calbré, were executed en-masse by throwing them from a cliff. The Calbré could not maintain their power and shortly afterwards, their kingdom collapsed and they were replaced by the Kings of House Cal Arrén. By the time of the invasion of the Laurëans, the Kingdom was once more ruled by three kings, each claiming the title of King of Lenorë, rather than High King of the Lenorës. In addition, the pre-Ecclesian Laurëan Kingdom sat at the gates of the peninsula. The Laurëan conquest of Lenorë was violent and swift. Valén’s greatest paladins, Relén and the seven peers, stormed through the green hills from the south with an army of 15,000 and immediately clashed with the forces of King Pélla the Foolish at Cal Rada. The Petty King barely mustered half of Relén’s numbers and found himself crushed under the hooves of Paladins. The remaining two kings (King Loré the Wise and King Céon the Lame) immediately joined forces and gathered an equal force to Valén’s army. They struck in a series of surprise assaults during the march. The Lenorën forces whittled at the Laurëan numbers and even killed a few of the Peers, until Relén divided his forces. Relén led a vast host of 6,000 soldiers along the high road, gambling it all on one desperate gambit. He slowly advanced across the road and drew the attention of the two armies. 5,000 light infantry and cavalry were sent forward, led by the five survivors of the Peers, to capture Cal Lenorë. Relén clashed constantly in a hell-campaign known as “The Battle of the Road” and the two kings continued to strike him like a hammer and anvil, hoping to destroy the Laurëan forces piece-meal. They never realized that their precious Cals had been all razed, save for Cal Lenorë. When Lenorën forces finally arrives, they found Laurëan banners hanging over the gate and the soldier of the garrisons nailed to posts along the road side. By the time a relief force arrives, Relén’s force had been almost utterly destroyed. The final stand of Relén’s paladins had ended only hours before the arrival of Valén himself. Relén’s shattered sword was found beside the corpses of both of the two kings. To this day, he remains a legend. This act of valor led Relén to become the patron Saint of Lenorë. The Lenorën populace was slowly tamed and the Kingdom saw itself briefly turned into the Providence of Breya under Relén’s son, before the death of Valén. The newly reformed Kingdom of Lenorë was given to Cénon an’Laurë. Under his rule, he attempted to force the transition from Lenorën to Laurëan and Palatine culture. He rewarded his loyal Paladins with holdings and intermarried them with local nobles. This effort continued with mixed success and the Kingdom eventually came to a crisis, when the Laurëan Kingdoms began to cannibalize themselves. The houses of Lenorë all vied for the throne while the King of Mallanë sought to add Lenorë to his list of titles. A rebellion staged by one of the Lenorë houses provided the excuse for a Mallanë invasion. Eventually, the Mallanë monarch forced the abdication of the grandson of Cénon an’Laurë and effectively annexed the entire marcher region under the tyranny of House Arrëd. In his place, his six-year-old daughter was crowned as Queen, and the Reya Amellen an’Mallanë sought to eventually marry her to one of his nobles against her will. He left a loyal man of an ancient house (House Y’Calínnis) as his regent and withdrew his troops, sitting back and awaiting his inevitable victory. Instead, he was faced with the most competent and intimidating woman in the history of Lenorë: Konstanzá a Cénon. Konstanzá was a naturally ambitious woman, who barely seemed to understand that her kingdom had been defeated. She was the first of her house to identify herself as a Lenorë. Her chief weapons were her mind and her skillful managing of ancient rivalries Bélen Y’Calínnis began to arrange her marriage to a Laurëan noble. Unknown to him, however, the Queen had begun her preparations. And on the very day that Bélen planned to display his authority over the Queen by announcing her wedding, she humiliated him before the whole court by announcing her marriage to a minor Prince of the Sacred Palatine Empire, a far better match. Reya Amellen was furious, but could make no intervention without spurring the wrath of the Palatine Emperor. And with the guarantee of support from the Emperor she began her plan to ensnare the Marcher Lords in her web. Over the next year, she secured most of the loyalty of the Marchers, most times through friendship, and other times through blackmail. Still, the most prominent of the Marcher Lords, the Y’Arrëds, sought to maintain loyalty to their foreign masters. She then requested that all of the Lords come to her wedding feast. The Y’Arrëd and the Calínnis Houses arrived at her feast. There, she sprung her trap, continuing to obligate the Y’Arrëd’s into staying late into the feast while the room was gradually cleared, save for the rest of the Marcher Lords. House Y’Arrëd was left alone with their hateful subjects, and the doors were locked behind them. There, the Queen requested that both families abdicate, as they were traitors to her father and as insurance, their heirs would be held prisoner. Calínnis immediate agreed and left their son. Y’Arrëd refused and so, as was her right, she revoked the titles of Calarrëd through the surest means. She then stood up and left the Y’Arrëds to their cruel fate at the hands of their vassals. Calínnis fled home, and immediately attempted to advise a second invasion of Lenorë. The King of Laurë proclaimed him the true king of Lenorë, as Lenorë could not be governed by a woman in his eyes. Calínnis gathered strength in his holdings. He sought to test her resolve and he found it to be granite. For she allowed her new host of disgruntled lords to destroy the fortresses and to demolish their existences. And before his very eyes, his son was hanged from a traitor tree. All of the house members were burned alive inside of their wooden fortress. Amellen invaded the Lenorë lands, but found that the queen refused to engage him. She hid in the deep fogs of her homeland, among the mountains, engaging in brutal displays of violence to demoralize her foes. Instead, he was forced into a humiliating defeat when the armies of a great western coalition marched to the peninsula and for the first time, Amellen marched back in disgrace after the battle of Tynnel. Her dynasty is now named for her, the Konstazéans. Her current descendant on the throne is King Rivallon Konstazéan, who is second of his name.